Carmella shares about being in a ‘deep depression’ after ectopic pregnancy

Last fall, Carmella opened up about a miscarriage she suffered that was followed by an ectopic pregnancy (where a fertilized egg grows outside the uterus, leading to a non—viable pregnancy and potentially threatening the mother’s life).

At the time, Mella (real name Leah Van Dale) said she decided to share her story to let those who’d experienced something similar know they’re not alone, and to minimize the shame women can feel in those not-uncommon situations. That’s also why she went more in-depth with her husband Corey Graves & his podcast partner Kevin Patrick on After The Bell about what was a very difficult time in her life:

“I spent the last seven months away from WWE. This is the longest time I’ve ever spent away, actually. I had some time off, a couple, you know, some health issues going on that we’ve now moved on from. I’m great. I’m healthy. I’m ready to go. But yeah, It’s been a crazy seven months to say the least.

“I was dealing with an ectopic pregnancy, which means that the pregnancy was not viable, couldn’t move forward with it, and it’s actually something that [Graves] and I were both learning together, is very, very dangerous, and something that a lot of women don’t actually make it through.”

Carmella explained more about what an ectopic pregnancy is, something she & Graves said they learned about as it was happening to them despite the fact it occurs in 6% of all pregnancies. The 35 year old from Massachusetts also described the weeks following being treated for hers:

“It’s insane because not only am I in the emergency room for this crazy medical condition that, you know, we have to monitor very closely, I was on bed rest for four weeks straight. I couldn’t do anything. But then I’m also processing the loss of our baby, so it was a double whammy.

“So I just think through all of that, we made it through and I’m so, so grateful. I’m not trying to gloss over any of this as if it was, I mean — I was in a deep depression for a while. It was really hard.

“But I felt like it was necessary for me to share my story because I felt even though I had you [Graves] and I had my family, I’ve never felt so alone because it’s kind of like blaming yourself. What did I do wrong? How could I have prevented this? It turns out, there’s nothing I could have done. It’s just how your body reacts...

“I was excited to have a baby and then it’s all taken away and it was just a very difficult time. It felt like my return [to WWE] was up in the air, I didn’t know, am I ever going to go back to work? Am I ever going to feel okay?”

Corey asked his wife to share about one person in particular whose support helped Carmella move forward:

“Stephanie McMahon, I’m going to get emotional thinking about it, she was so supportive of me through all of it, reached out to me several times, we had several phone conversations about it. Even after my return a few weeks ago, she texted me saying ‘so good to see you back, hope you’re feeling alright.’

Not only does she preach women-empowerment, she practices it. I’m just so forever grateful for her and the support that she’s shown for me through all of this.”

The former co-CEO and Chairwoman of WWE isn’t the only person in the company who made sure Mella felt loved, either:

“Our kitchen looked like a floral shop. Everyone who is anyone in WWE, the female locker room, both locker rooms, everyone. We have flowers everywhere and I’m so grateful. We have such a support system, the WWE universe, our family that we have behind the scenes in WWE is so real and I’m so grateful for everyone.”

Since returning on the Jan. 30 episode of Raw, Carmella’s been feuding with Asuka — something that will continue past their participation in last weekend’s women’s Elimination Chamber with a match on next week’s Raw.

But as you can hear her tell it on After The Bell, it was a long road back, and not something she would have wanted to do alone. Resources are out there if you or someone you love is dealing with miscarriage or pregancy loss, including here.